All is Well, No Damage Done in Balakot Air Strike, Says 'Fit and Healthy' Masood Azhar

The JeM chief's column has termed attacks like Pulwama as a ‘freedom movement.’ Azhar has said that the suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dhar has started a fire in the hearts of Kashmiris and it is not going to extinguish soon.

File photo of JeM chief Masood Azhar.

The Jaish-e-Mohammed in a purported column in the group’s mouthpiece Al-Qalam has accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading false news of losses suffered by Masood Azhar led group.

The column supposedly written by JeM Chief Masood Azhar under his pen name Saadi said that “all are alive and all is well,” while denying claims of PM Modi that the Balakot strike damaged the outfit heavily, the Hindustan Times reported.

The source has, however, maintained that it is difficult to establish if Azhar is indeed the author of the piece. Nevertheless, the weekly paper Al-Qalam is widely recognised as the JeM mouthpiece.

Following reports of the JeM chief’s ill health, Azhar has challenged Modi to prove how medically fit he is. “Unlike Narendra Modi, I am fully fit. I challenge him to a game or archery or a shooting competition to prove I am fitter than he is,” he said.

The Hindustan Times quoted Azhar as saying in the column that global deliberations on his health was just propaganda against him.

“I am fully well. My kidney and liver are perfect,” Azhar said in the column. For 17 years the JeM has never been to a hospital or consulted a doctor, he added. He attributes his good health to a Quran inspired diet which has freed him from ailments like hypertension and diabetes.

The column has also termed attacks like Pulwama as a ‘freedom movement.’ Azhar has said that the suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dhar has started a fire in the hearts of Kashmiris and it is not going to extinguish soon. The ‘freedom movement’ would only spread further, the JeM chief claimed.